This Heirloom Tomato Salad with a Quick Labneh is an amazing summer dish that highlights the best of in season tomatoes! It's the perfect side.
How to make this recipe
- Prepare labneh by putting a cheesecloth over a wire strainer. Add Greek yogurt to strainer and cheesecloth and sit over a large bowl and strain for up to 24 hours to squeeze out as much liquid possible.
- After it has a bit of the labneh into the middle of a large pasta bowl, and sprinkle with spices, pistachios, and a drizzle of olive oil and honey.
- Mix all the ingredients for the citrus dressing together, and cut tomatoes in half.
- Arrange the tomatoes all around the labneh, and pour a tiny amount of dressing overtop of the tomatoes.
- Sprinkle with sprouts, and serve with sesame bread!
Ingredients and substitutions
Labneh
- Greek yogurt – it is recommended to use whole-milk plain Greek yogurt to get the best results. However, you can use low-fat Greek yogurt as well.
- Sesame seeds – if available, use sumac or zaatar spice instead of the sesame, cumin and coriander.
- Cumin – see substitution notes above.
- Coriander – see substitution notes above.
- Salt & pepper (to taste)
- Olive oil – it is recommended to use an extra-virgin olive oil. If you don’t have any on hand use grapeseed oil or avocado oil.
- Honey – maple syrup is a great alternative to honey
- Pistachios (chopped pistachio to garnish)
Salad
- Heirloom tomatoes – use mini heirloom tomatoes, grape tomatoes or cherry tomatoes for the best texture and taste
- Sprouts – for the best results use alfalfa sprouts, mung bean sprouts, or lentil sprouts
Citrus dressing
- Olive oil – any neutral olive oil can be used to substitute olive oil
- Orange juice – fresh squeezed orange juice is recommended. Otherwise bottled orange juice can also be used.
- Lemon – use fresh or bottled lemon or lime juice
- Balsamic vinegar – apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar can also be used
- Honey – maple syrup can also be used to sweeten the dressing and offset the acidity
- Salt & pepper (to taste)
What is labneh?
Labneh is a popular Middle Eastern yogurt/cheese dip. It's extra creamy, flavourful and resembles cheese while having a tangy yogurt taste. Labneh is used in Middle Eastern dishes as a dip similarly to hummus or baba ghanoush for pita bread, veggies or smoked salmon. You can also simply use it as a side dish to a full meal. To take labneh to the next level, garnish it with similar toppings that are used to garnish hummus, such as:
- olive oil
- honey
- spices (ex: zaatar, sumac, cumin, etc.)
- nuts and seeds
- roasted garlic
- etc.
What if you don't have a cheesecloth?
The cheesecloth is recommended to use to help drain the yogurt of its whey to make and thicken the labneh. The cheesecloth allows for the liquid to drain through without any of the yogurt draining through the mesh sieve. If you don't have a cheesecloth, the next best thing to use is a kitchen towel. A kitchen towel as the protective layer between the yogurt and the strainer will keep the yogurt in place while allowing any excess liquid to drain through.
Storing the leftover salad
Store this salad in the fridge for up to three days. To store this salad, I recommend keeping the tomatoes and dressing separately from the labneh and combining all the ingredients together when ready to enjoy. This keeps the labneh and tomatoes fresh while also allowing you to have the option to use the labneh for other dishes if you'd like. Since this is a cold salad, this dish doesn't need to be reheated. Easily assemble and enjoy straight from the fridge!
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More easy salad recipes
- Balsamic grilled chicken and arugula salad
- Strawberry spinach salad with chicken
- Grilled chicken, avocado and BLT salad
Meal prep tools
- This is the cheesecloth I use to strain the Greek yogurt
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you would like to store the salad for later
- I like this salad dressing shaker to make homemade dressings easier
Heirloom Tomato Salad with a Quick Labneh
Ingredients
Labneh
- 1 cup plain 2% Greek yogurt
- Some cheesecloth can be found at the dollar store
- Pinch of sesame seeds, cumin, coriander, salt & pepper
- Drizzle of olive oil and honey
- Pinch of chopped pistachios optional
Salad
- 2 cups chopped mini heirloom tomatoes sliced in half
- Any type of sprouts
Citrus dressing
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Juice of half an orange
- Juice of half a lemon
- 1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 tsp honey
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
Instructions
- Prepare labneh by putting a cheesecloth over a wire strainer. Let sit over a large bowl and strain for up to 24 hours, but a quick version of this is fine to be strained within 15 minutes (squeeze out as much liquid as you can if you go this route!)
- Scoop a bit of the labneh into the middle of a large pasta bowl, and sprinkle with spices and pistachios, and drizzle with olive oil and honey.
- Mix all the ingredients for the citrus dressing together, and then cut tomatoes in half.
- Arrange the tomatoes all around the labneh, and pour a tiny bit of dressing overtop of the tomatoes. Sprinkle with sprouts, and serve with sesame bread!
Share With Me!
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